Free Scots eList: "FreeScots is a social/political/economic/historical discussion list covering many subjects of potential interest to anyone with a tie to Scotland, or residing there. A very active and controversial list exploring the idea of an Independent Scotland; and the route to get there..across the political spectrum, and the world. (It is busy and occasionally rude in argument, sometimes emotion filled, but well moderated in language and conduct, interested but busy people should consider digest or no mail options. 8,000 messages the first year, and 116 active members and growing)."

Political Parties/Nationalist Organizations

Scottish National Party (SNP): The major nationalist party in Scotland. The SNP has enjoyed considerable support throughout Scotland, though especially among younger voters. The SNP focuses on "economic" arguments for Scotland's independence and has gained considerable support with slogans such as "It's Scotland's Oil." The SNP won its first Parliamentary seat in 1967 and has never had more than 11 seats at any given time.

Scottish Liberal Democratic Party: The Scottish wing of the Liberal Party. This group has done fairly well in Scotland and tends to pick up votes from those who are unwilling to vote SNP (for whatever reason) or Labour. The Lib-Dems have done much to forward calls for Devolution for Scotland.

Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party: After the last election, the Unionists have no seats in Scotland for the first time in history. They are British, as opposed to Scottish, nationalists as implied by the name Unionist. Formally conservative districts have frequently swung to the SNP (as seen in Perth-Kinross).

Scottish Green Party: Similar to other European Green parties. The Green's have not made a major impact on the Scottish political scene to this point.

Siol nan Gaidheal. The Scottish Cultural & Fraternal Organization: This is the third incarnation of this organization. Initially formed in 1979, the group proved popular with right of center nationalists. When an arm of the group spun off to form Arm nan Gaidheal and became involved in a number of petrol bombings, the group was banned from the SNP and disbanded shortly thereafter. Siol enjoyed a second incarnation in the 1980s and then was revived again in the mid-1990s. This is a graphics heavy website and contains a fair bit of java so expect slow load times.

Scots for Independence: "This site is run by a group of like-minded Scots dedicated to the cause of Scottish Independence." The group argues that "Our sovereign nationality of well over a thousand years is being eroded more and more each day. We are taught that we are 'British', not Scottish, whatever that means. We view the progress so far of our "devolved parliament" as a pathetic talking shop, with severe limitations upon its independent actions." Among other features, the site includes a collection of intensely nationalist articles, links and several historical documents.

Priority Independence: This site is dedicated to Scottish independence. The site includes links to numerous articles listed under the headings: "History," "Political Articles," "Outside Articles," "Re-Issues," "SNP web sites," and "Other links." The publishers write: "The views expressed in the various articles here are derived from a variety of sources, and must be viewed as a whole. They represent a spectrum of the ideas on Scottish Independence, and are not all necessarily comprehensively representative of the personal views of the group."

Nationalism

Scottish Politics Page: A pro-SNP site which provides opinion poll information and an interesting look at the Nationalist argument.

The Development of Scottish Nationalism: This is a very well-received 2nd term university project in social history, on the development of Scottish nationalism. The project was finished at the 21st of May 1997 at Aalborg University, Denmark, under the (perfunctory) supervision of Robert Chr. Thomsen, by the following people: Carsten Hammer Andersen, Lars Christensen, Marianne Stig Nielsen, Mads Orbesen Troest.

Scottish Nationalism: A brief introduction to the Scottish National Party. Focuses on reasons for SNP support (or lack thereof), ethnic dimension of Scottish nationalism, etc.

The Scots Independence Tour (c): The personal homepage of one of the Web's more outspoken Scottish Nationalists. Provides a useful account of the nationalist argument for Scottish independence.

Tourism/Heritage

Scottish Tourist Board: One of the major organizations promoting Scottish tourism. The site provides a clear look at how Scotland is being sold.

Historic Scotland: Another of the major organizations promoting Scottish tourism and heritage. Again, this site provides a clear look at how Scotland is being sold. (Requires Shockwave for a complete viewing experience.)

Scottish Economic History Database: An excellent resource for those doing Scottish history. Contains: Crop Yields, Demographic Data, Price Series, Wage Series, and Weather Statistics for the years between 1550 and 1780.

Anti-English Activity on the Rise: Since 1992 anti-English violence has been increasing in Scotland. This is an article from The Scotsman which quotes a Scottish historian concerned with the trend.

Culture

Irn-Bru: Scotland is the only country in the world where Coke is not the number one soft drink. Instead, that title is held by Irn-Bru and orange colored beverage which targets the central-belt Scottish hard-man image with the slogan: "Made from Gerders."